Read my books:

Mastering SketchUp

on DVD-ROM or by download

Master Google SketchUp Free and Google SketchUp Pro

Few programs inspire such love for all things 3D as SketchUp. Although most people find SketchUp intuitive and easy to use, mastering it is another matter. Spend a weekend immersed in these video tutorials and you will be able to master this incredibly useful and powerful 3D modeling software. These videos are for anyone wanting to bump their SketchUp skills up to the professional level.

SketchUp started with a cult following in architecture and after Google acquired @Last and made a free version with virtually the same functionality as the Pro version, SketchUp has spread from architecture to engineering, construction, landscape architecture, furniture design, woodworking, entertainment, and education.

Learn how to take advantage of SketchUp's connection with Google's 3D Warehouse and Google Earth to harness the world's modeling talent and share your own with the community. Hook Photoshop into the SketchUp texture editing workflow and learn how to create and texture 3D models directly from photographs.

A vibrant ruby-scripting community is making SketchUp better every day and these videos go into depth training you on dozens of the best free ruby scripts that transform the peoples' SketchUp into a program that competes with the 3D elite.

Click here to view the video table of contents.

I do not cover Layout, StyleBuilder, or how to author dynamic components—the short list of topics available only in the pay version. SketchUp 7 Pro is useful for these things and for the ability to export in a variety of 3D formats for increased compatibility with CAD and BIM programs.

The videos are launched through a web interface that lets you keep track of where you are in the overall tutorial. Although this product was created using SketchUp 7 free, the lessons apply to other older and future versions (free and Pro) as well.

System Requirements
Windows XP/Vista or Mac OS X, 1.34 GB disc space for download version (no space required for DVD-ROM version), sound card, speakers or headphones, minimum graphics resolution of 1024x768 (1280x800 or higher recommended), and free Quicktime player. Google SketchUp free or Pro is required to practice the techniques shown (sample files provided) to build solid skills.